January 23, 2007 |
2007-R-0103 | |
ASSISTIVE LISTENING DEVICES IN MOVIE THEATRES | ||
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By: Veronica Rose, Principal Analyst | ||
You asked if movie theaters must provide assistive listening devices for people with disabilities.
SUMMARY
The answer is a qualified yes. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and implementing regulations explicitly require places of public accommodation, which include movie theaters, to provide assistive listening systems and other auxiliary aids to people with disabilities unless doing so would constitute an undue burden or fundamentally alter their services. In such cases, they must provide an alternative that does not fundamentally alter their services or create undue burden.
THE ADA
The ADA, which took effect on January 26, 1992, is a federal law aimed at providing “a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities” (42 USC § 12101(b)(1)). It prohibits discrimination in several areas against people with disabilities. Title III states that:
No individual shall be discriminated against on the basis of a disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any place of public accommodation by any person who owns, leases (or leases to), or operates a place of public accommodation (42 USC § 12182(a)).
The ADA applies to a wide range of facilities whose operations affect commerce. These include cinemas, theaters, concert halls, and other places of exhibition and entertainment (42 USC § 12181(7)).
In addition to a requirement to remove structural barriers to communication, places of public accommodation must provide effective communication to persons with disabilities. The regulations require them to take necessary steps to ensure that:
no individual with a disability is excluded, denied services, segregated or otherwise treated differently than other individuals because of the absence of auxiliary aids and services, unless [they] can demonstrate that taking those steps would fundamentally alter the nature of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages or accommodations being offered or would result in an undue burden, i. e. , significant difficulty or expense (28 CFR § 36. 303).
The regulations explicitly require places of public accommodations to provide “assistive listening systems, interpreters, and other auxiliary aids unless doing so would constitute an “undue burden” or fundamental alteration” of their services. If providing a particularly auxiliary aid or service would fundamentally alter the nature of the goods or service or create an undue burden, the public accommodation must:
provide an alternative aid or service, if one exists, that would not result in an alteration or undue burden but would nevertheless ensure to the maximum extent possible, that individuals with disabilities receive the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations offered by the public accommodation (28 CFR § 36. 303(f)).
The regulations expressly prohibit imposing any additional fee or surcharge for providing an auxiliary aid or service required by ADA (28 CFR § 36. 301).
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